How To Sync YouTube Favorites Across All of Your iOS Devices

YouTube is the most overlooked resource that comes with your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. In my case, it has opened up a whole new world of free content and hours of entertainment for my daughter Lillie. Lillie was born with Cerebral Palsy and has difficulty controlling her muscles. One of the best therapies for her is cognitive sensory stimulation, and music and video are very good for this.

When Apple TV was announced, I was excited about the possibility that she could watch YouTube cartoon videos on our 46" flat screen TV. However, finding the same videos on her iPad and then again on the Apple TV, was time consuming and a hassle. Fortunately, there is an easier way to do it: create a YouTube channel for Lillie and then save her favorite videos to it. That way, she can access them easily from either device, and they would always be current. The key here is to be logged into your own YouTube channel on both devices. And it's easy to do.

Step 1: Set up your YouTube channel

These instructions assume that you already have a YouTube account. If you don't, go YouTube.com in Safari on your iPad and set one up. (Click on the "Sign up for YouTube!" link on the left side of the screen and follow the onscreen instructions.

You'll be asked to link your YouTube account with your Google Gmail account (Google owns YouTube). If you don't have a Google Gmail account, you'll have to create one. It's free. Note: When you create a username and password for your channel, write them down somewhere. You're going to need them to log in with your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple TV. Once you have set up your account, YouTube will send you a confirmation e-mail. Whatever e-mail address you used to sign up is where the confirmation e-mail will go. Once you receive the confirmation e-mail, click on the link inside the e-mail to activate your channel. Once you do you that, proceed to the next section.

Login to your YouTube channel on your iOS device

Make sure your device is connected to the Internet via a wireless connection.

Open up the YouTube app and tap on Favorites in the bottom menu bar.

Tap on the Sign In button in the upper left hand corner.

Enter your YouTube username (Gmail e-mail address) and password.

YouTube's sign in screen on the iPad

Save your YouTube Favorites using your iOS device

Make sure you are logged in to your YouTube account inside your YouTube app

Browse YouTube and find the video you want by using the Search field. Play your selection.

Once it stops playing it will exit full-screen mode, and you'll see its description and other video thumbnails to the right of the screen.

Tap on the video that you just watched, and a series of YouTube options will appear at the top of the video (Add, Share, Like, Dislike and Flag).

Tap on the Add option.

Tap on Favorites to add the video to your account's Favorites list.

To make sure it was added, tap on the Favorites icon at the bottom of the screen.

Tap on the Add option to add a video to your YouTube Favorites list.

View your YouTube channel on Apple TV

Turn on your Apple TV and go to the Main menu.

Select Internet and then YouTube.

Once you are in YouTube, scroll to the bottom of the list and select Log In. Enter your YouTube username and password using Apple TV's on-screen keyboard. These are case sensitive, so make sure to enter them in both correctly. Select the Done button when you're finished

You will then see a "Logging in..." loading screen on your Apple TV. If this is up for more than a couple of seconds, it means that you have entered in your username or password incorrectly. Click the menu button on your remote and try entering them in again. You will now see an icon labeled, "YouTube My Account" in the upper right corner of the screen with the three options: Favorites, Subscriptions and Log Out.

Click the MENU button on your Apple TV remote to go back to the main YouTube menu. This will allow you to choose from the following video options: Featured, Most Viewed, Most Recent, Top Rated, History, Search. Select the Search option and use the keyboard to find a video. Once the search results come up, hit the middle silver button on your Apple TV remote to watch.

Save your YouTube favorites using Apple TV

You don't have to wait for a video to end to save it to your YouTube favorites list. Follow these steps:

During the movie, click the MENU button on your Apple TV remote.

Use your Apple TV remote to scroll down to Options and select it. You will see another menu of options.

Select the Save to Favorites option.

Finally, select the Done option from the keyboard.

Now your video will be saved to your YouTube account's Favorites list and will be seen in it no matter what device or computer you use to access your YouTube account.

Control Apple TV from your iOS device

If you lose or break the remote that comes with your Apple TV, you can use your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch as a remote control. Just download and install Apple's Remote app (free, app2.me/3104). YouTube videos come in handy when we are trying to feed Lillie or just to keep her occupied for a couple of minutes. There are other benefits for Lillie, but I don't have time to go through all of them. So enjoy and let me know if you discover any other great tips using your Apple TV, iPad, iPhone or iPod touch along with the YouTube app. As always feel free to contact me: contact@lilliespad.com.

Advance to the next video easily

If you're using the YouTube app on your iOS device and are logged into your YouTube account, you don't have to go to the Favorites list to go back and forth between videos. While you're watching a video from your Favorites list, simply tap on the screen to bring up the video controls. Then tap on either the back or forward arrows. You'll advance to the next or go back to the previous video automatically. Tap on the Play button to start the video.

Use the onscreen controls to advance to the next or go back to the previous videos in your YouTube Favorites list.